PLA Small arms

Hey as anyone seen any pics of this Chinese automatic shotgun called the LW-3. I saw it listed on Modern Firearms and thought a new Chinese shotgun.

Type Select-fire, gas operated

Gauge 12

Length 660 / 880 mm / 26 / 35”

Barrel length n/a

Weight, empty 3.2 kg / 7 lbs

Magazine capacity 5, 10 or 20 rounds



The LW-3 automatic shotgun is a relatively new development from China. Its status is unknown at the moment of this writing (summer of 2012), and this weapon is obviously intended for law enforcement use. Unlike most other police type shotguns developed in China or elsewhere, the LW-3 offers select-fire (full automatic fire) capabilities and can be equipped with 38mm underbarrel launcher for use with less lethal ammunition such as tear gas, flash bang or “flying baton” 38mm projectiles.

Not much is known (yet) about internal design of the LW-3 shotgun, but it is believed to be of gas operated, locked breech type. Feed is from detachable box magazines of 5-round capacity, and from 10- and 20-round drum magazines. LW-3 shotgun is equipped with side-folding shoulder stock, and in CQB scenarios can be fired with the stock folded. It is equipped with rifle-type iron sights, and features an integral Picatinny rail on the top of the receiver.

Yeah.. I remember seeing those. Check it

I Don't think there's much need for a (full auto) cal 12 shotgun in the military.
We 've seen several such weapons being developped worldwide in the past decennia and none has become adopted. (Though i wouldn't mind testing one myself; i've fired spas 12 & 15 models, various pump-action shotguns and some over/under and side by side 12 cal's, would surely like to try a full-auto
cal 12 may be good for police use in place of submachinegun but especially here full auto is undesired due to the to great a risk for 'collateral damage'.
in military aplication I can see but a few resticted uses for a shotgun (guarding prisoners, at a checkpoint, armed house search ...), but these roles can also be taken care of with a carabine version of your standard rifle ... so why bothering introducing an additionnal element in your armament inventory? (exept for the bribes to the purchasing commission).

It's a Niche weapon hard to find a job For. awesome close range fire but poor at longer ranges. Add on to that, that Recoil is a killer unless you have some kind of buffer or recoil control system. A compact assault rifle or SMG could do a lot of it's mission but if you really really dislike the baddies in a house you are clearing... Most Auto shotguns never make it too production The only two I can really think of are the AA12 and USAS 12.

prc pmc

Here's a new one for you. Pictures of what are claimed to be Chinese private military contractors.

AR15s or Norinco CQ long arms and western side arms.

pendragon said:

I Don't think there's much need for a (full auto) cal 12 shotgun in the military.
We 've seen several such weapons being developped worldwide in the past decennia and none has become adopted. (Though i wouldn't mind testing one myself; i've fired spas 12 & 15 models, various pump-action shotguns and some over/under and side by side 12 cal's, would surely like to try a full-auto
cal 12 may be good for police use in place of submachinegun but especially here full auto is undesired due to the to great a risk for 'collateral damage'.
in military aplication I can see but a few resticted uses for a shotgun (guarding prisoners, at a checkpoint, armed house search ...), but these roles can also be taken care of with a carabine version of your standard rifle ... so why bothering introducing an additionnal element in your armament inventory? (exept for the bribes to the purchasing commission).

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The Army probably has some very limited uses for an auto 12 gauge as you stated. But I can see the PAP and the Navy finding an auto shotgun very useful. Since the PAP and Navy are more likely to be in indoor close quarter engagements like the Navy's bordering parties the PAP deals with riots, door breaching and bean bag non-lethal rounds.

ABC78 said:

The Army probably has some very limited uses for an auto 12 gauge as you stated. But I can see the PAP and the Navy finding an auto shotgun very useful. Since the PAP and Navy are more likely to be in indoor close quarter engagements like the Navy's bordering parties the PAP deals with riots, door breaching and bean bag non-lethal rounds.

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They actually have an standard issue shotgun, the QBS09, as you can see that only goes to production 4 years ago, disclosed only in 2011. Still, it has yet been seen actually used by active combat units, not even the HK Garrison...

Use of shotguns is actually still a new thing to the Chinese, much like high performance sniper rifles, anti-materiel rifles, and rail mount accessories system. Of all things, the Chinese have very little contact with modern shotguns, probably have to do with the Soviet weapon systems have no such thing.

MwRYum said:

They actually have an standard issue shotgun, the QBS09, as you can see that only goes to production 4 years ago, disclosed only in 2011. Still, it has yet been seen actually used by active combat units, not even the HK Garrison...

Use of shotguns is actually still a new thing to the Chinese, much like high performance sniper rifles, anti-materiel rifles, and rail mount accessories system. Of all things, the Chinese have very little contact with modern shotguns, probably have to do with the Soviet weapon systems have no such thing.

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The russians had a number of shotguns including one of my favourite ones the Saiga 12 but also a number of pump actions to. So I doubt that the russians are to blame on this one.

TerraN_EmpirE said:

The russians had a number of shotguns including one of my favourite ones the Saiga 12 but also a number of pump actions to. So I doubt that the russians are to blame on this one.

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What I mean is, back in the day the Soviets "aided" China in modernizing its arms production industries, things such as AK-47 were imported but not shotgun...plus, despite the previous 100 years of wars prior to 1949 made China saw the use of just about every known small arms from all major powers, surprisingly shotguns never caught on - sure, the Germans didn't use them, the Japanese didn't either, but the US aid provided to KMT didn't seems to include shotgun too...

Seems and did are to different things. I think however the issue is just a case of Chinese history and the history of the shotgun just not coming together. The shotgun as we all know it is like just about every gun a product of the latter half of the 1800s and the twentieth century. But the biggest evolution of it happens in the period dating from 1880 to 1920 the last days of the chinese imperial state and first days of the nationalist. The biggest of those evolutions can be traced to one man Mr. John M Browning who in 1887 created the first true modern shotgun the lever action Winchester 1887. US sino relations were at the time in a all time low. The shotguns history enters a period of leaps as Browning fallows the lever actions with the pump action in 1893 and then the semi auto in 1900 China is in a number of wars at the time trying to toss out european powers. The Germans never really adopted the repeater shotgun until just before WW2 (story goes the Germans after discovering the effectiveness of trench guns in cleaning out their trenches tried to have them banned.) I have on idea what the japanese thoughts on the shotgun were but after the war the english were the next to take them up. In police roles untimely WW2. Shotguns were still new and hard to pin in a military role the big shotgun selling conflict was English operations in Malasia. In Jungle recon SAS found them very effective. China war at that point deep in its civil war and looking more likely to try and keep a smoother logistic foot print. Pistol rounds can be used in SMGs, rifle rounds in MGs but shotgun shells are only shotgun shells. Additionally all the Russian shotguns I know date from the late1960s on. So the Fickel Russian Chinese relationship is part of this to. Basicly it just never worked out until the chinese licenced the Remington 870